Thaddeus McCotter will file paperwork to enter the 2012 presidential race on Friday, a McCotter adviser told POLITICO, allowing the Michigan congressman to kick off his long-shot bid on the first day of the new fundraising quarter.

McCotter spent four days in Iowa this week and came away "feeling positive" about his reception, the adviser said. His presidential campaign website will go live around noon tomorrow.

The source said that former Iowa House Speaker Chris Rants will serve as McCotter's senior adviser in the first-in-the-nation caucus state. Rants, who endorsed Mitt Romney early in the 2008 cycle, confirmed that he would be supportive of McCotter.

"I spent a good portion of this week introducing McCotter to Iowans as he was out here to gauge interest and get a read on the current field of candidates out here," Rants wrote in an email. "Should he decide to run, I will be on board to help him navigate the Hawkeye state."

USA Today reported that McCotter's formal campaign launch will come this weekend in his home state of Michigan.

McCotter's entry into the race is not a surprise: He recently spent $18,000 to purchase a desirable piece of real estate at the Ames straw poll this August. He told Radio Iowa on his visit to the state this week that he sensed little "ardor" among Republicans for the current presidential field.

In an interview with POLITICO last month, McCotter previewed some of the themes of a potential presidential run: "The challenge of globalization, the war for freedom against terrorists, the rise of Communist China and whether moral relativism erodes a nation built on self-evident truth."

McCotter is little known to Republicans nationally, but has a strong following among the conservative media in-crowd. Andrew Breitbart gushed about a potential McCotter candidacy to POLITICO in May, calling him "blunt, sarcastic, pop-culture-savvy, constitutionally sound and an authentic voice."